Improved boot aid shoe-shank



. @uitrit t'atrs ltttrnt @Hirn Letters Patent No. 79,941, dated July 14, 1868.

IIllI'PROVID `BOOT AND SHOE-SHANK.

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TO ALL WHOMIIT MAY CYONCERN:

Be it known that I, AUGUST BEnTnAM, of New Albany, county of FloydLand State of Indiana, have invented' certain new and useful Improvements in Boot and ShoesShanks; and I do hereby declare the following;` obe a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference'being had to the accompanying drawings,A

and the letters of reference marked thereon, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is aview of the left shank. I Figure 2 is a view of the right shank. Figure 3 is a View of the right and left shank crossed. I It is well known, inthe manufacture of shoes, that'to produce a curve that is both graceful and comfortable, and which is formed by the angular-raising of the instep, a shank must be introduced whenv thelshe is manufactured, and that the shank must'of necessity-not only be constructed of elastic material, but one that` will not blunt the awl when the same is inserted.

The nature of my invention consists iu constructing a boot or shoe-shank entirely ofwood, hickory or other kindred species. This shank is embedded between the upper and lower surface of the sole.

' My invention is entirely free froui all the objections incident to the use ofthe metal shank. In themanufacture of the shoe, should the awlcome in contact withrt'he metal, the same will not be blunted or otherwise injured.` And in wear, as is often theA case, thesole of the shoe becomes thoroughly wet, the metal is liable lto rust, which, to a great degree, rendersit a disadvantage, rather than an advantage, to the shoe. With my wooden shank all-these objections aire. removed, and from the very nature ofthe material used, it will readily be seen that when the shankis cutin proper form, by steaming or other suitable means, it can readily be made to ada-pt itself to` the desired shape, corresponding exactly with' the contour-formation caused by the recess, bethe same regular or irregular.

To enable others skilled in thc art to makenand use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and` operation. l

A is the shank ofthe left side of the foot; Bis the shank of the right side of the foot; C D shows the Shanks crossed. The angle of the curvature of' these shanks is suoli as is usually used in theA manufacture of boots and shoes, but it willreadily suggest itselt` to any one skilled in the art that the same can be so modified und changed as to readily acconimodzite itself to'fany formation of the foot, whctherregular or peculiar, the

point ofmy invention being sirnply to furnish a spring-shank forrthe manufacturei"s use, composed entirely of' wood, and depending entirely upon the natural elasticity of the material for its ability to'conform itself to the curvature df the footthis being done entirely without the interposition of a metal plate or any other adjunct.

' `Having thus fully described .my invention,-what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofv the United States, is;-

The "right and left shoe-Shanks A B, of the forru shown, when the same are madeentircly ofwood, and

.are inserted between the upper and lower sur-face of the sole, so as to be embedded in the leather, substantiully as herein described and for the purpose specified; v

AUGUST BERTRAM.

Witnesses:

Hanni' Knossrn, Santini. S, B'An'rLurr. 

